Their Side of the Story
by The-Dancing-Emu
Summary: The stories on how some of the ghosts died. I may get into FF2 later, but for now it'll be ghosts from the first one. Chapter 5 added Koji Ogata!
1. Girl Turning

Girl Turning

"Miss Kirie?" Isumi opened the door to the young shrine maiden's room-or cell, rather-and bowed respectively. Kirie looked up from the book she was reading. "Oh, good morning, Isumi," she greeted her servant.

"I have your breakfast for you," Isumi said, walking in and setting the tray on the table. She bowed again and turned to leave when Kirie called after her "Wait! Could you stay, maybe?"

Isumi turned around. "Am I allowed to?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't you be?" Kirie said. "You're my servant, correct? So if I request something you're supposed to do it. I request you stay."

"Well…all right," Isumi said awkwardly, sitting down on a cushion.

"So, tell me about your life," Kirie said, leaning forward.

"What do you mean, Miss?"

"I've been stuck in this dull old mansion for my whole life. I want to know what girls my age do in the outside world, what they're like."

"Well…I'm eleven years old, and I live in the village not far from the mansion with my mother and father and little brother. I spend the day working here, earning money for my family. I come up here in the morning to bring you your breakfast, clean the mansion until I need to bring you your lunch-"

"Yes, yes, yes, I know what you do here, but what is your life like outside of the mansion?" Kirie interrupted.

"Oh…um, well, I take care of my younger brother, which can be quite annoying."

"Why?" Kirie asked.

"He just loves making things difficult for me. I have to spend most of the time chasing him around. Once he locked me out of my house! I was banging on the door and windows for an hour while he sat inside laughing, the little brat!"

Kirie giggled. "That's funny!"

"No it isn't!" Isumi said indignantly.

"Well…I suppose it wasn't for you, but you have to admit it is kind of funny.

"I guess so," Isumi said, grinning.

"So, what do you do when you aren't working here or taking care of your brother?" Kirie asked.

"The usual. Spending time with my friends, walking around the village, playing in the woods."  
"It must be nice," Kirie said, sounding almost wistful.

"Yes….so….what's your life like?" Isumi said.

"Not exciting, really," she replied. "I've never left the mansion. I'm not allowed to. I'm barely allowed to leave this stupid cell, though occasionally one of the priests will let me go out into the cherry atrium when the weather's nice."

"Why can't you leave?"

"I'm not supposed to become attached to the world. It's a requirement as a shrine maiden. The ritual wouldn't work if I became to attached to the world."

"Oh." Isumi stayed silent for a moment, then blurted out, "What is this ritual?" then turned red. "I'm sorry. It's none of my business. I was just curious."

Kirie looked down, trying to decide whether she should say anything. "It's supposed to be a secret…." She began. "Do you promise not to say anything to anyone if I tell you?"

Isumi nodded.

"Every…seventy-five years I believe….a girl is sacrificed to keep the gates of hell closed. I've been chosen to be that girl."

"What will happen to you?" Isumi asked, her eyes wide.

"Well, when I'm of age….they tie ropes to my arms, legs, and neck….and pull off my limbs." She did her best to sound nonchalant, keeping any fear out of her voice. She couldn't be afraid. She was a shrine maiden. Shrine maidens weren't supposed to feel anything. Isumi, however, looked horrified. Her jaw dropped and tears welled up in her eyes. "That-that's terribe! It's inhuman!"

"It's my duty," Kirie said, shrugging.

"So you spend your whole life locked away, never experiencing…anything, and then you're brutally murdered? Miss Kirie, that isn't right! You should escape!"

"I can't just run away, Isumi. I need to stay. I need to fulfill the ritual. To protect my family and everyone at this mansion. I know you don't understand, but I'm doing the right thing."

Isumi gulped back a sob, but nodded. "I really should leave. I have to scrub the floor in the great hall."

"Goodbye, Isumi…and thank you."

"For what?"

"For keeping me company. I never have anyone to talk to here."

"Oh, well…you're welcome. Goodbye, Miss Kirie."

"Lord Himuro?" a priest poked his head into the study.

"Yes?"

"We have…a slight problem."

"What is it?"

"Well, I was walking past Kirie's room and I heard her telling her servant about the ritual. Now an outsider knows."

"Kill her," the family master said shortly, turning back to the bookshelf.

"What?" the priest said, shocked. "But Sir, that seems a little harsh…."

"Harsh, but necessary," Lord Himuro said without looking up. "The secret must be protected at all costs."

"Y-yes, My Lord."

Isumi jumped slightly when she heard the door slide open. She hurried to her feet and bowed to the priest who had entered the grand hall. "Is there something wrong, Sir?" she asked.

"No, Isumi, but I need you to pull some weeds in the backyard. Come with me." The girl followed the priest outside, past the cherry atrium, through the staircase room and fish tank room. As soon as she stepped into the backyard, two priests jumped out from behind the corner and seized her arms. Isumi let out a yelp that was quickly muffled by one of the priest's hand. They dragged her across the yard to the well. She managed to briefly wrench out of the priests' grasp long enough to turn around, look up at Kirie's window and screamed, "KIRIE! HELP!" then was seized again. They lifted her up and dropped her into the well, her screams growing more and more distant. They heard a faraway splash that echoed against the stone. One priest hastily lifted the wooden lid and placed it on top just as Kire appeared at her window. "Did someone say my name?" she called down.

"No, you must be mistaken," one of the priests called back.

"Oh…if one of you see Isumi, could you please send her up?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Kirie, Miss Isumi is no longer working at this mansion. She…left with her family to another village."

"Oh….all right," Kirie replied, keeping any emotion out of her voice, but a small pang of disappointment throbbed in her heart.


	2. Long Haired Woman

Hoshi stared at her reflection in the mirror, running a brush through her silky, raven black hair. She had a pride for her hair the way some people had a pride for their children. It was thick and long, reaching all the way down to her lower back. Should she do something different with it tonight, with all the guests coming over? She experimentally twisted it up into a bun, shook it out, tried weaving it into a braid and then unweaving it. No, it looked naturally perfect. Nothing needed to be done to it. She resumed brushing.

"Hoshi, we need to go clean the great hall to prepare for the guests tonight," Shina, a fellow servant in the Himuro mansion said as she entered the room she and Hoshi shared.

"In a moment, Shina. You go ahead and start without me."

"No! Come on, Hoshi, it's a big room and takes more than one person to do it, and some of the children ran through there earlier when they were playing and muddied it up even more. I can't do it all on my own."

"You won't have to. I told you, I'll be right there."

"No, you'll just stand here the whole time brushing your hair while I do all the dirty work. Can't you stop being vain long enough to help me!"

I am NOT vain!" Hoshi exclaimed, whirling around, her hair whipping her face. "Just because I care about my appearance does not make me vain, Shina."

"Fine. Whatever you say. If you aren't vain, then, come with me and help me clean up. Now."

Reluctantly, Hoshi set down her brush and followed Shina.

After three hours of sweeping, scrubbing, and polishing, the girls were done.

"Now was that really so bad?" Shina asked, grinning.

"Yes! I got cobwebs in my hair! I need to go wash it before the guests arrive."

Shina rolled her eyes but said nothing.

That evening, the guests began to arrive. The servants stood respectfully at the entrance to greet the guests. Several young men stared admiringly at Hoshi, who smiled back flirtatiously and ran a hand through her hair.

Once everyone had arrived, the servants led them downstairs, to the entrance to the demon mouth, where the Himuro Family Master stood waiting with his priests. Everyone gathered around, while the servants stood back with their heads bowed.

The first priest stepped forward. "Give thanks to the five gods' protection. Place the stone, representing the five mirrors, in the correct location."

An attendant approached the priest and handed him the stone mirror, and the priest raised it above his head for all to see. The next priest stepped forward.

"On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month a maiden, cut off from the outside world for 3,669 long days, shall be torn apart to give power to the rope."

Kirie, who had been standing behind the others and flanked by two attendants, was brought forward. The guests exchanged uneasy glances, averting their eyes from the rope shrine maiden.

The third priest stepped forward. "Show the maiden no mercy. Cast the rope on her limbs from the right arm, then the other, from the right foot, then the other."

An attendant approached and gave the ceremonial ropes to the priests.

The fourth priest stepped forward. "Bury the rope maiden's spirit. Place the five buddhas within her damaged limbs." Yet another attendant approached the priest and gave him the ceremonial case containing the five Buddha statues.

The Himuro family master finally stepped forward. An attendant approached him and handed him a white porcelain mask, an expressionless face. He raised the mask to his face, and the moment it touched his skin it began to change. The blank expression was transformed into a truly horrifying face, with narrowed, menacing eyes, a twisted grin, and demonic horns. The guests gasped and backed away, staring fearfully.

"Please make way for the Ceremony Master, his priests, and the Shrine Maiden, for the cleansing in the moon well," an attendant announced. The crowd parted as the small group made their way out of the demon mouth to the moon well. The attendants went through the connecting corridor to the entrance of the hell gate to meet them. The guests, now quiet and pale, were led back up to the mansion.

Hoshi sat quietly under the tree in the cherry atrium. She could hear people talking inside, and she knew she should be inside helping the other servants, but she needed some time alone. That poor girl…she knew the ritual was necessary, but imagining what Kirie's fate must be like sent shivers down her spine. And she had heard the priests whispering the other day about the ritual. They sounded worried. Did they expect something to go wrong? She anxiously twisted a strand of hair around her fingers.

Just then a tremor shook the earth. Hoshi stood up. What was that? She heard people screaming inside the mansion. The earth shook again, and Hoshi nearly fell over. Suddenly the door of the moon shrine well burst open, and the Himuro family master strode out, still wearing the mask of reflection, still in the form of a demon.

"Master Himuro," Hoshi called nervously, "what hap…" her voice trailed off. The family master whipped his head around at the sound of her voice, then unsheathed a sword. He began laughing maniacally-a high pitched, bone-chilling laugh. Hoshi ran, stumbling up the porch steps, and towards the staircase room. She heard the family master running after her. She threw open the door and ran down the hall towards the fish tank room. If she could make it to the backyard, maybe she could make it through the woods, away from this mansion. She threw open the door. Awkwardly, she stepped onto the first plank and slowly walked across it, trying not to lose her balance. She sighed once she made it across. She was about halfway across the second beam when the door burst open.

"No one leaves this house alive!" the Himuro Family master cried. Not bothering with the first wooden plank, he leapt across to the second one. Raising his sword, he slashed Hoshi across the chest. She gasped and fell into the cold, murky water. Her long, silky black hair billowed around her, her blood mingling with the water surrounding her staining it.

Fin

Well, hope you all liked that one! Next up will probably be the Floating Head, requested by Word Spinner. And yes, I will do characters from FF2, but I'd like to start out with FF1 for now. Keep the requests coming, folks!

The Dancing Emu


	3. Floating Head

A/N: Hey, everyone! First off, I would like to thank Word Spinner and Fallen Akaichou for your wonderful reviews. Thank you so much, you two! And Akaichou-Yep, I am indeed Blinded Demon on the BCL forums. And as for Shina being the floating head…it's so funny that you should mention that….

Shina quietly dusted the long table in the burial room as the guests talked animatedly, admiring the beautiful artifacts in the room. _So many people, _Shina thought. There would be quite a lot of cleaning to do tomorrow.

Suddenly, the house shook violently, knocking everyone to the ground. The once cheerful conversation became panicked shouting. "What is going on? What happened? What was that?"

Shina had gone very pale. She had overheard enough of the priests' conversations to know what had happened. The ritual had failed. They were all doomed. She scrambled to her feet and shouted, "Get out now! Get to the entrance as fast as you can and get out of this mansion!"

The guests didn't need to be told twice. There was a mad rush to the door and they ran out. Shina ran to the room that led to the Demon Mouth corridor to warn anyone who was in there. She opened the door and gasped.

Rubble was everywhere. The stone walls, ceilings, and wooden beams had collapsed, crushing everyone in the room. Shina clapped a hand to her mouth.

Just then, the doors of the Demon Mouth corridor were flung open and one of the priests came running out, his eyes filled with terror. He stared around, horrified, at the crushed bodies. His gaze came to rest on Shina, the only living person in the room, and stumbled towards her, another tremor shaking the house.

"He went mad!" the priest garbled. "He began to kill everyone in his path!"

"Who did?" Shina asked fearfully.

"Lord Himuro," the priest whispered, and ran out.

Shina stood there numbly for a moment, and then gasped. Hoshi didn't know. She needed to warn her! Hoshi had said something about going outside for fresh air. Shina ran out of the room, through the burial room, and out to the cherry atrium. Shina looked around. She didn't see anyone, but noticed that the door to the moon well was open. Her heart seemed to drop into her stomach. Had Lord Himuro already gotten to her? Without thinking, Shina ran to the staircase room.

"Hoshi?" she called softly. There was no answer. She made her way down the hall to the fish tank room. She carefully made her way across the first plank, approached the second plank-and screamed.

Hoshi was floating facedown. The water was clouded red from her blood. Her beautiful hair, now soaking wet, hung limply in the water. Shina looked frantically around the room. Lord Himuro wasn't in here. At least he hadn't lingered after killing Hoshi. But where had he gone? Probably the backyard, Shina thought. Quite a few people had gathered there, and he might have heard them. Not wanting to be there when he returned, Shina doubled back to the staircase room, casting one more horrified glance at Hoshi's body.

She slowly and quietly made her way up the stairs. This would be the quickest way out; through the anteroom, down through the sunken fireplace room, the rope hallway, to the entrance. If she was lucky, the entrance wouldn't be too blocked by the rubble knocked loose from the tremors. Slightly calmed by the thought that she might still escape, she reached the top of the stairs- and found herself face to face with the Himuro Family Master.

Shina didn't even have time to react. The last thing she saw was the face of a demon, and the last thing she heard was malicious laughter, before Lord Himuro slashed out his sword and Shina's head rolled down the stairs.

A/N: Well, hope you liked it! Coming up-Koji Ogata!


	4. The Editor

A/N: Now, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but…oh, hell- TOOT TOOT! This is my favorite chapter so far. Hope you all like it!

Koji tugged on the doorknob, but the door refused to budge. He slammed his shoulder into it, hoping to break it down, but only earned himself a sore shoulder. The mansion may have been old, but the door was as strong as the day it had been built. Rubbing his sore shoulder, he headed down the stairs. Where were Mr. Takamine and Tomoe? He'd searched everywhere; everywhere he could find, anyway. He had tried to go through the door on the left end of the rope hallway but it was stuck, but he had been sure he'd heard voices from behind the door upstairs in the fireplace room. How had Mr. Takamine and Tomoe gotten through if it was locked, though? Lost in his thoughts, it took Koji a moment to notice the little girl waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

She looked about seven or eight years old, with thick black hair curtaining her round pale face. She wore a white kimono with a faded gold flower pattern. She stared up at Koji with wide, dark eyes, but said nothing.

Surprised, Koji forced a smile and knelt down to the little girl's height. "Hey there," he said cheerfully. "I didn't know anyone else was here. Have you seen two people around here? An old man with white hair and a woman with a red sweater?"

The little girl didn't say anything, but pointed to a nearby folding screen. Perplexed, Koji looked over at it. "What is it?" he asked, turning back to the little girl- but she was gone.

Koji was more confused than ever. Where had she gone? He tried to shake off his uneasiness. The kid was creepy, but maybe she was just shy. Curious, he turned back to the folding screen. He pushed it aside, revealing a door. He turned the handle and was relieved to find it was unlocked. He walked inside, finding himself in a dusty hallway dimly lit by a row of votive lamps hanging from the ceiling. Slightly cheered up, Koji entered the room to his left. _Tomoe and Mr. Takamine must be back here somewhere! _He thought. No one was in the room, however, which looked like it could have possibly been the library. "Mr. Takamine!" he called. "Tomoe! Where have you both gone?"

There was no sign of life anywhere in the room. Koji slid open a door that revealed a small room with old, faded kimonos. He called their names again but didn't receive an answer. He went back to the hallway, tried the door at the right of the end of it, but it wouldn't budge. Disappointed, he decided he'd head back upstairs and try to break the door down again. When he approached the door that led back to the sunken fireplace room, however, he found himself face to face with a young woman.

She had long black hair shrouding her face, like the little girl, but was older-about seventeen- and wore a pure white kimono. She didn't acknowledge Koji at all.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Koji Ogata. I'm here researching with a couple other people." He held out his hand, but the woman didn't move. Letting his hand drop to his side, he said, "Well…I was surprised to find anyone else here. Are you from the village?" The woman still said nothing. Koji sighed. "Look, I got separated from the other two people in my group. I think they're somewhere beyond that door upstairs, but it's locked. Can you help me?"

The woman remained silent.

"I can't find the key," Koji said, desperation creeping into his voice. "Where is it?"

The woman finally spoke, but it was the last thing that Koji wanted to hear.

"I'll make you feel my pain."

One cold, quiet phrase. It sent shivers down Koji's spine. "What do you…?" he began, but he let his sentence trail off when he saw dozens of hands emerge from behind the woman; grey, dead looking arms, reaching out, snatching for Koji. He stumbled backwards, then broke into a run. He looked over his shoulder at the woman, who wasn't moving as if to say "You can run, but you can't hide."

Hurrying into the library, Koji looked around wildly for a place to hide. He spotted a closet in the corner and ran to it, slid the door open, and clambered inside. He slid the door partially shut, leaving it open a crack to keep wait. "Oh, God, please don't let me die," he thought. To his horror, the woman glided into the room.

"Don't let her find me, please, don't let her find me…"

She looked toward the closet and came closer.

"OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod…."

The door slid open, and Koji screamed. Two hands reached out from behind the woman and grasped Koji's wrists. They let go after a moment, but he could still feel a tightening on his wrists. Looking at them, he saw that each of them had reddish black rope marks. Another pair of hands grabbed his ankles. They let go and once again he felt a tightening sensation around his ankles, even though the hands had released him. Finally the woman reached out her own hands and tightened them around Koji's neck. She let go, but the tightening continued. Koji felt his limbs being pulled, his flesh tearing, his bones breaking-

And then Koji felt no more.

REVIEW! Now! Or I'll set all the ghosties on you! Mwahahahaha!


	5. The Assistant

I am SO sorry I haven't updated for a while! School's just been hectic, but it's finally over, thank God. Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you for your reviews. Every time I get an e-mail notifying me that I got a review I just stare thinking… "Another one!" I'm very happy that you all like the stories! I'll try to get to all of your requests! This one might be a little longer than the previous chapters Enjoy!

Tomoe Hirasaka collapsed to her knees in front of the closet and vomited onto the dusty wooden floor.

"Tomoe, did you find…" Junsei Takamine's voice trailed off when he walked in and saw Koji's bloody, severed body in the open closet. "Tomoe," he called hoarsely, "Come away from there." Tomoe didn't seem to hear him. Her face was in her hands and her body wracked with sobs. Mr. Takamine walked toward her, careful not to look at the closet, and grabbed her arm gently. "Come away, Tomoe-chan," he said again a little more firmly. Tomoe looked up, tears streaming down her face. She climbed unsteadily to her feet and stumbled away from the closet before leaning against the wall beside the door and vomiting again. Mr. Takamine strode over to her and fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her to wipe her mouth on.

"Who could have done it?" he muttered. "I'm positive we're the only ones in this house…"

"Not the only ones," Tomoe murmured. "There are others."

"But Tomoe, this house has been abandoned for years. None of the villagers would come up. They're too afraid."

"It's the people who used to live here," she said insistently.

"They're long dead. It couldn't have been them."

"…They're still here."

Mr. Takamine shuddered, but said quietly, "This is a spooky old mansion. Your imagination has probably been running wild, and after finding-." But Tomoe cut him off angrily. "I have _not _been imagining things! I'm not crazy! There are ghosts here, Mr. Takamine. I know it. I think I knew it before I came here but I was too stupid to pay attention to that."

Mr. Takamine sighed wearily. He was not in the mood for arguing. "Ghosts or no ghosts, there's someone dangerous here and we need to find a way out unless we want to wind up like poor Koji."

"But the entrance is locked," Tomoe pointed out.

"Yes, but there should be some other way out of here. This is a big mansion. There has to be more than one exit….Tomoe, what are you looking at?" he asked, for Tomoe was staring curiously at the kimono room door. "Check in there," she suggested.

"That's only the kimono room," Mr. Takamine said.

"I know, but I just have this feeling…." Tomoe murmured, and opened the door. Mr. Takamine followed her.

"Well?" he asked, fairly annoyed. Tomoe looked around, then approached a drawer with a mirror stand above it. She opened the drawer and pulled out two things: a small brass key and a photograph. "That key matches the lock upstairs!" Mr. Takamine exclaimed. "But…what's that photograph of?"

"It's Koji, I took it for his biography page of his magazine…Oh my…" Tomoe gasped and held the photograph up for Mr. Takamine to see. There were ropes tied to Koji's arms, legs and neck. They were faint, almost transparent, but they were there.

"Now do you believe me?" Tomoe whispered.

"I don't seem to have a choice," Mr. Takamine said heavily. "Come on. We need to find a way out."

They made their way out to the sunken fireplace room and hurried up the stairs. Tomoe stuck the key in the keyhole, turned it, and heard a satisfying click as the door unlocked. "Mr. Takamine, the door's unlocked. Let's go…Mr. Takamine?" She looked over her shoulder at him. He was peering over the railing down at the fireplace room. "It's Hinasaki-san!" he exclaimed, turning around.

"Mafuyu?" Tomoe gasped. She hurried over to look, but saw no one."

"H-he disappeared!" Mr. Takamine stammered. "He walked toward that clock and just faded away!"

"Are you sure it was him?"

"I didn't get a great look," Mr. Takamine admitted, "But I could've sworn it was him."

"It was probably another ghost," Tomoe murmured. "Let's go." She turned around, walked over to the door and pulled it open. She and Mr. Takamine entered a room with a table and a dusty coal brazier. They looked around, then Tomoe said, "Come on, this way." Mr. Takamine didn't even bother questioning her this time, but simply followed. She opened a door to reveal a hallway. They walked down it and turned the corner. Tomoe gasped when she saw someone out of the corner of her eye. She whirled around, terrified, to face whoever it was, and found herself facing a mirror. She almost laughed out loud. She reached out her hand to lean against the mirror, but as soon as her skin touched the smooth glass, her vision changed.

She was no longer looking at her reflection, at the dusty old hallway, but a temple at the top of a hill, flanked by trees. A Shinto gate stood tall at the top of the stairs in front of the temple entrance. The door slowly swung open, revealing a temple with four bloodstained Buddha statues. But there was supposed to be a fifth one. She didn't know how, but Tomoe was sure a statue was missing. And she knew that somewhere nearby was the solution to all their troubles. But where….? The temple faded away, and Tomoe was back in the hallway. She stared dazedly into the mirror for a moment, then snapped out of it and exclaimed "Mr. Takamine! You'll never guess what I…" her voice trailed off. Mr. Takamine was nowhere to be seen. "Mr. Takamine?" she called again. There was no answer. "Stupid old man, why would he leave me!" Tomoe cried, frustrated. Suddenly she felt a tingling at her wrists. She looked at them. Faint, black rope marks circled her wrists. They faded away after a moment. "I'm getting rope marks on my body," she realized. "Just like Koji…" she hurried down the stairs. "Mr. Takamine! She shouted. "Where are you?" She turned the corner and saw a shadowy figure. "There you are!" she cried. The figure turned and started walking toward her, stepping out of the shadows. It wasn't Mr. Takamine.

The man had decaying yellow skin, thin, greasy hair, beady dark eyes, a scowling mouth, and inhumanly long arms. He reached toward her, flexing his long bony fingers. "Give back…" he rasped angrily. He grabbed Tomoe's shoulders, shaking her violently, and she screamed. It felt as if thousands of ice cold knives were piercing every square inch of her body. She pulled away and ran down the hall, running into the first room she found. She looked around. A long table stretched across the length of one wall, candles and scrolls scattered all over it. Ignoring it, she ran out the next room- and found herself outside. She leaned against the wall, nearly crying with relief. She breathed in the fresh night air. Suddenly a voice broke the silence. "Tomoe!" She looked up to see Mr. Takamine running up the porch steps toward her. Before he could say another word, she cried, "Why the hell did you leave me?"

"I thought you were right behind me," he explained. "Honestly…are you all right? You look horrible."

"I was attacked," Tomoe answered, shaking. "A man with long arms…" she found she was too exhausted to say anymore and sank to the floor, still leaning against the wall. Mr. Takamine crouched down, put her arm around his neck, and hoisted her back to her feet. "Whoa, you really did take a beating. Let's get you somewhere safe. I feel a little uneasy out here." He half carried her to a well lit room with two long tables on two opposite walls, covered with dolls. A royal looking crimson paisley rug covered the wooden floor with a matching cushion in the center. Mr. Takamine set her down on the rug and said, "I'm going to see if I can find the exit. I'll come back for you."

"No!" she said weakly. "There was…temple…Buddha statues…escape…"

"You've been through a lot," Mr. Takamine said soothingly. "Get some rest. I think you'll be safe here." Tomoe was too tired to argue anymore. She rested her head on the cushion, and the last thing she heard was Mr. Takamine closing the door as he left before she drifted into sleep.

Tomoe was standing in front of a large door. She looked around. She must be underground, she thought. She felt someone tug at her sweater and she turned around, looking down at a little girl with long dark hair. "Who are you?" she asked the little girl, who said nothing, but pointed to a large stone in front the door. A small mirror was set into it. "What are you trying to say?" Tomoe asked. The girl then pointed to the door. It shook, then burst open. An unseen force flew out of it, pushing Tomoe back. The mirror shattered into five pieces. Tomoe was overcome with a sense of dread. The scenery swirled around her, and suddenly she was in the temple she saw in her vision. A box on the altar slowly opened…revealing a shard of the mirror. "We need to find all the pieces," Tomoe realized.

She woke up and looked around. She stood up quickly. She needed to find Mr. Takamine and tell him! She hurried out of the doll room, and was about to run down to the door at the end of the porch when she noticed someone standing under the large tree in the clearing. No…two someones. There was a young woman wearing a white kimono. She looked like an older version of the little girl in Tomoe's dream. The other person was…Mafuyu? Tomoe looked more closely. No. This young man wore old fashioned clothing, but he looked uncannily like Mafuyu. "Kirie," Tomoe heard him say. "Why won't you run away with me? I love you. You know that."

"I just can't, Akiyama. There are reasons for me to stay here that are more important than my love for you," the young woman-Kirie-answered sadly. The two faded away, leaving Tomoe utterly bewildered. What was that all about? She shook her head and made her way to the door. She didn't have time to linger. She entered the room, looked around, and screamed. Severed heads were strewn all over the floor. Their eyes were open and glazed with fear. The worst part was they were all howling, their screams for mercy, screams of fear echoing through the room. One head, a young female's, rose from the floor and floated toward Tomoe. Tomoe screamed and ducked past, running down the hall to the next door. She found herself in a flooded room with makeshift bridges made of wooden beams. She carefully made her way across them and opened the door to the backyard. She felt a powerful force coming from somewhere behind a grove of bamboo trees. Was a piece of the mirror somewhere nearby? She made her way forward…and saw a fuzzy white figure making its way out of the tree grove. What was it? It became clearer. It was the woman in the cherry atrium, Kirie. "What…?" Tomoe began, but then a feeling of ice cold dread washed over her. There was something about that woman. Something evil. Slowly, dead looking grey arms reached out from behind Kirie, who glided toward Tomoe. Two of the grey hands reached out and grabbed her wrists, letting go after a moment. She looked down. The rope marks were back, along with a terrible, ripping pain. Tomoe stumbled, then ran toward the door to the fish tank room. She ran across the beams, trying to ignore the pain in her wrists. She made her way through the staircase room out to the cherry atrium. She ran into the clearing, noticing a door past the tree. She hurried toward it. Where was Mr. Takamine? She needed to warn him about Kirie, about the curse. Suddenly she heard her name called. "Tomoe!" She looked up. Mr. Takamine was standing on the porch steps. "Where are you going? Why did you leave the doll room?"

"Kirie...she's coming!" Tomoe sobbed.

"What are you talking about?"

Tomoe was about to answer him, when two grey hands reached up from the ground and grabbed her ankles. Tomoe screamed in pain, and Kirie rose from the ground. "Mr. Takamine!" Tomoe rasped. "Save me!" She pushed the door open and stumbled in, sensing Kirie right behind her. Where to run? She had barely made it past the water wheel when Kirie glided in front of her. She simply floated there for a moment, watching Tomoe suffer. Tomoe felt as though her limbs were being ripped off. She was tugged this way and that by some unseen force. She was dimly aware of Mr. Takamine running in, standing a few feet away, looking unsure about what to do. Finally, Kirie reached toward her. Tomoe sensed something new. Cold, blank, darkness. Death. Kirie put her hands around her neck.

"NO!"


End file.
